Renee and I couldn't have asked for better help at La Mole. Alejandro and Grace were two of the "red shirt" staff assigned to our tables. Between Renee and me is Alex, who was my interpreter over the weekend. HUGE thanks to these folks and the rest of the crew.

I've been wanting to post some pics from the November Mexico City trip but once my travel wrapped up last year, I had to immediately jump on some style guide work for Warner Bros. Between that and the holidays, any hope of actual time off vanished. Still working on the style guide and just days away from my first convention of 2018. At last though, an update...

I could rave about La Mole Comic Con in Mexico City for pages but to save time and space, just believe that it is truly one of the great conventions and the Mexico City experience was awesome as well. The trip coinciding with the Day of the Dead celebration was icing on the cake.

Leading up to the show weekend, the guest were treated to a morning workout at the Teotihuacan Pyramids, an afternoon at the National Museum of Anthropology, and some pit stops at some of the finest local eateries.

There were two Pyramids at the Teotihuacan site, one (shown above) larger than the other and a whole lot of architectural remains between and around the pyramids. I climbed around for a while but on the advice of my lungs (gasping for oxygen at Mexico City's altitude) and my legs (turning to rubber), I retreated to level ground.

We headed to the historic district of the city on the eve of Day of the Dead and encountered the biggest crowd I've ever seen. Incredibly fun night and far better than any Halloween night I've ever experienced in the states.

The highlight of the evening had to be Renee being brave enough to sit down for a trim by Edward Scissorhands!

A few of the fine folks I met at La Mole Comic Con below...

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT #1... to Emerick Rendon and promoter Elias Ortiz for the excellent gift. Master sculptor, "Emeryck", displays his work and creates custom sculpts at La Mole. Elias commissioned him to create portrait busts at the show for some of the special guests. Thanks again to both you gentlemen! (photo at left below)

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT #2... to Efrain Malo for the portrait sketch. Efrain, a well-known caricaturist, one of the show's special guests, and sitting across the aisle from me,.. created this sketch while I was sketching across from him. Thanks again Efrain and glad to meet you at La Mole! (photo at right below)

Above: Just a couple of the A-listers appearing at ACE Comic Con Arizona!

Looking ahead to the winter/spring months in 2018 and committing to some show dates. Many shows are new for me and others are shows that I like to visit regularly when possible.

Beginning the year with ACE Comic Con Arizona. They're putting a whole new slant on Comic Cons by bringing them to Arenas instead of Convention Centers which will result in a different and more interactive experience for fans. If you're in the northeast, check out their inaugural event in Long Island, December 8-10. If you're on the left coast, come to the Gila River Arena in Arizona, January 13-15. I'll be at the Arizona event, joining much of the main cast from Captain America: Civil War, and looking forward to the experience. (Ace Comic Con on Facebook here)

My first ever Alabama appearance will be the weekend of Feb 24-25 in Huntsville. Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo is a family friendly weekend event at the Von Braun Center. Check out their website and Facebook page for additional info.

So nice, I'll do it twice!... You may not think of Greenville, South Carolina as the home of a major comic con, but it is,.. and it's called SC Comicon. Mix in an efficient and friendly staff and volunteer crew, an incredibly nice crowd of folks, a side of southern hospitality, and you'll have an idea why I'm headed back. If you're in the eastern US, you should consider adding this one to your calendar. May 24-25. Website here. Facebook page here.

On the weekend of April 20-22, I'll be attending my first Cape Comic Con in Girardeau, MO. This event keeps growing year by year. More guest announcements on the way so keep an eye on their website and Facebook page for updates.

Headed back to East Coast Comic Con once again on the weekend of April 27-29. The show that's been getting bigger and better, and the show where I like to connect with my New York/New Jersey area friends. Website is here and follow them on Facebook here.

I'll be adding more shows in the coming months. Remember to check my Convention Schedule page from time to time for new show announcements or any changes in my schedule.

Thanks to all who have lugged the "Mike Zeck's Classic Marvel Stories Artist's Edition" into shows for a signature. Happy to sign those and happy to be represented in the "Artist's Edition" family.

This year as I've been chatting with folks at conventions, if the subject of Artist's Editions comes up, there seems to be one or two at each show who are surprised to find out that a Zeck Artist's Edition exists, even folks who are purported Artist's Edition collectors. I guess because it's a couple of years old now?

So as a Public Service Announcement and a reminder, I'll take a moment to say that it indeed exists and can still be purchased at the IDW site here. If you grab one, lug it on over and have it signed when I'm in your neighborhood.

I hope that's the case since I've only just created that option!? I'm trying to keep flat rates in place. The breakdown at this point is the same $12 shipping and handling (USPS Priority) here in the US, $18 shipping and handling (USPS First Class International Package) to Canada, and $24 shipping and handling (USPS First Class International Package) to all countries outside of the US and Canada.

It's largely untested at this point so If you order from outside the US and run into any problems, please let me know. Visit the SHOP.

SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT LOOK

Trying a different template.

A FEW MORE GALLERIES

Finally added some more images which were on the Checklist page of my previous site. Under the OTHER ART menu, you'll find galleries from publishers other than Marvel and DC as well as a sample gallery of past commissions.

CONVENTION FAQ

As soon as I'm announced for a convention, I get a number of emails asking mostly the same questions. Under the INFO menu, I've posted a Convention FAQ page that will hopefully answer most of those questions.

ONE MORE SHOW ADDED TO 2017

I have Grand Rapids Comic Con coming up this month and La Mole in Mexico City coming up next month. Now I've tacked on Fan Expo Vancouver! I've spent a lot of time with the Fan Expo family this year in Dallas, Orlando, Boston, and Toronto. Makes sense to finish my travel year with that same family. That's shaping up to be a great show, Vancouver is always a nice place to visit,.. so hope to see you there.

Remember to check my Convention Schedule page from time to time for updates. I'll be adding dates in 2018 during the coming months.

Thanks to the folks at Colorado Springs Comic Con for creating a "Punisher event" in August! Happy to finally cross paths with Jon Bernthal (Marvel/Netflix Punisher) and personalize a Punisher print for him.

Boston Comic Con, mentioned in the Oct 1 post below, was the first of a 7-show, back to back run. That's why I've been absent from posting here recently.

I followed Boston with Terrificon and as usual, it lived up to its name. Another terrific weekend at the Mohegan Sun Casino this year. Next year it should be at least twice as terrific! The casino is building a larger, state of the art convention center which is scheduled to be ready for the 2018 Terrificon. A good thing because it's definitely outgrowing the existing hall. I'm concerned though because Mitch and Spencer worked themselves sick making this year's show awesome. I don't want to think what doubling or tripling the size might do to them!?!? If you haven't tried this one on for size yet, make sure to get tickets next year for the bigger and even more terrific TERRIFICON!

Terrificon was the only event this year to bring the Punisher team together,.. Steven Grant, John Beatty, and me. In honor of the occasion, the Punisher himself showed up at the event. The three of us were eager to grab a photo op with him, of course!!

In other Terrificon news, Carlos Santana was playing at the Mohegan Sun Arena that Saturday night. The same four amigos (Michael Golden, Renee Witterstaetter, Arthur Suydam, and me) who couldn't resist getting tickets to the Cirque du Soleil, Beatles "Love" performance in Vegas, couldn't resist getting tickets for Santana at the Mohegan Sun Casino. A flashback of almost 50 yrs for me since I was a big fan of Santana's self-titled debut album in 1969, and saw him live many times in those early years. Here's a then and now...

The highlight of the Colorado Springs Comic Con was meeting Jon Bernthal (see the pic at the top of this post). Another highlight was how well-run and well-attended it was. Congrats to the crew for their biggest, 'bestest' show to date.

BabyCosplayRocks!

Colorado Springs

It was my first time at the BIG show in Toronto. Fan Expo Canada is said to be the third largest show in North America and I have no trouble believing it. Quite well organized for its size though. I've been on something of a Fan Expo tour this year so I feel pretty much 'at home' at their events. Every one a success for Fan Expo and fans alike, and I personally enjoyed each one as well. Enjoyed them enough that I think I'll wrap up my travel in 2017 by joining them in Vancouver! A couple of pics from the BIG show below...

Another first for me this year was the Rose City Comic Con which I've wanted to do for a while. I like the city of Portland and I like a show that still caters to comics fans when they put together a guest list, so this event was a natural. Thanks, Ron, for being accommodating and congrats on another success.

A special Rose City moment was meeting the GI Joe (A Real American Hero) Costume Club members who presented me with a framed honorary club membership and patch. I've now joined Larry Hama and Michael Golden with that honor, so I'm in good company. A big "thanks" and a "nice meeting you" to the members of the costume club! (Pic below)

Tried the AVC "Louisiana Comic Con" out for the first time too. Southern hospitality is alive and well in Lafayette! Staff and crew and everyone through the doors were incredibly nice. AVC is obviously interested in creating "family" events. I think the percentage of families at this show is probably higher than any other I've attended. Glad to be a part of it and glad that Victoria came along to lend a hand and take a few pics. A sampling below...

Wrapped up the 7-show tour with another of the largest shows in North America,.. Salt Lake City Con. And again, my first time there. That resulted in Renee and me staying really busy during the entire show, and hours were long. No complaints though. It's better than the alternative. Super big convention center, over a hundred thousand folks enjoying themselves, and yet somehow well-organized. Nicely done, Ryan and crew!

So busy at Salt Lake City Con, I really didn't have time to think about pics. Except for that time when a certain Captain America fan came to see me.

Finally a few weeks at home and a few moments to catch up on site updates! I'll start where I left off,.. on my way to Boston. Another great outing for the Fan Expo crew and I figure it'll just keep growing now that they're in the Boston Convention Center. If you've been putting off going to Boston, time to put it on your "to do" list.

And the usual "many thanks" go out to my sister Cyndee, Paula, and Laureen for hiking in to manage the booth, keep me company, and chat up the fans!

Haven't been to a Boston show since the 80s but that changes this month at the bigger and better Boston Comic Con! Great new location and presented by Fan Expo which always means a stellar guest list and events galore. If you want proof, just click here or the image above to visit their site. See you there!

A few weeks back I added a couple more shows to the 2017 schedule and today, a couple more again. Namely Louisiana Comic Con: Lafayette (I've never been to Lafayette and it's been about 3 years since my last Louisiana show.) and La Mole, Mexico City. (Never been there either.)

Check my convention list from time to time for additions or updates and be sure to come visit if I'm in your neighborhood.

FL Super Con is always special since it gives me a chance to spend some time in South Florida where I grew up, and also an opportunity to get together with my sister and other friends.

Great location for a show but Ft. Lauderdale (or at least the Convention Center) is not quite big enough to host a "Super Convention". Traffic snarls and capacity crowds weren't uncommon over the weekend. Good news for Super Con I would say since everyone wants to be there and they're becoming too big to contain!

The folks in Raleigh were apparently ready for this type of convention. They turned out in great numbers last week and something near capacity on Saturday. Major success for an inaugural show. Congrats to the SuperCon crew for the success and for a professionally run event.

And thanks to Victoria for remembering to snap a few pics while managing the table.

The Last Supper,.. in Gijón that is. Thanks to Pepe Caldelas (under the hat) for hosting us. And to Miguel Saavedra (this side of Pepe) for still being willing to put up with us after so many interviews over the weekend. And thanks to the rest of the "guest posse" (including Rodney Ramos behind the camera) for helping create such an awesome weekend!

Back from Spain. Metropoli Comic Con is surely one of my favorite Con experiences, and Gijon is one of the nicest cities I've visited. I was able to share some time and some hall space with Keith Pollard, Tom Lyle, David Michelinie, Rodney Ramos, Kenny Lopez, and Renee Witterstaetter (US invitees).

Also Mike Deodato and Will Conrad (Brazil invitees). I've been following Deodato's work for a long time and was hoping our paths would cross somewhere along the convention trail. Finally happened and he's not only crazy talented,.. he's... uh?... crazy!? :-)

Plenty of Spanish talent in the hall as well, including another gent I've been wanting to meet for quite some time,.. Jordi Bernet. So, a couple of things checked off my bucket list this month in Spain.

I'm posting some galleries. WARNING: Practically no art or comics content here!! Mostly just touristy stuff and posted so that my companions listed above can browse and grab a few if they see themselves in any of the pics.

From the Con...

From beautiful Gijon...

And from a short stay in Madrid where Renee and I were fortunate enough to spend an afternoon absorbing some Madrid history and some excellent food and drink compliments of the Chairman of the Wellington Society and retired professor, Stephen Drake-Jones.

Punisher extraordinaire, Miguel, was a hit at the Zeck/Beatty tables. We thought he looked great on the first day of the show but he upped his game each successive day, adding new new armor, weapons and other accessories. Looking forward to seeing what he has cooked up for Florida SuperCon!

MegaCon was a family weekend for me. Both of my sisters joined me to help out at my table and we had a few of our extended family members come to visit us at the show as well. Great show on a personal level.

Great Fan Expo event as well! It was gigantic,.. moving across the street from the usual Orange County Convention Center hall to take both north and south halls in the newer complex. And the fans did a good job of filling it up! A four day event and I still didn't get to see everything!?!? Fan Expo is on a roll and I expect more of the same when the Boston show rolls around.

A few show pics compliments of my sister, Cyndee (in the Captain America hoodie).

I'm always a bit happier at events when I know that Spock Vegas is the acting Commander of the show floor.

First 2017 journey into Canada last weekend and a long, long time since I've traveled to Ottawa. Not since the late 70s. Very nice show and especially well-run. Some US shows could learn something from Oscar, Marc and the crew about making load-in and load-out easy, managing a show floor, and setting up a "green room". Thanks gentlemen!

I'm preparing for a full house at Fan Expo's MegaCon Orlando. If it's anything like Fan Expo Dallas (and it IS, by the way), it'll be THE place to be May 25-28. The Fan Expo guest list is that awesome. Click here to see for yourself, or click the graphic below. See you there.

The KRAVEN'S LAST HUNT creative team, 30 years later. Left to right... BOB MCLEOD (inker), MARC DEMATTEIS (writer), MIKE ZECK (penciler), RICK PARKER (letterer), and JIM SALICRUP (editor). Yeah, I know,.. not a 100% complete reunion without JANET JACKSON (colorist). Wish she could have been there.

...for me anyway,.. was the 30th anniversary reunion of the "Kraven's Last Hunt" team. I've connected with a few of of these guys along the convention trail in recent years but the five of us quickly realized that this was the first time we've ever been together in the same place, including those months we were working on the story arc since many of us were working from our homes.

Seeing everyone healthy and happy 30 years later was good enough for me. Sitting down to discuss our work on Marc's inspiring story was icing on the cake. By the way, any discussion of Kraven's Last Hunt begins 2-3 years prior to the series when the story idea was originally pitched as a Wonder Man/Grim Reaper tale. If you're not familiar with the genesis of the idea that would eventually become Kraven's Last Hunt, you owe it to yourself to read Marc DeMatteis' blog entry "The Story Behind the Hunt -- Again".

Our panel was just one of many awesome events at East Coast Comic Con this year. The guest list was stellar as usual and the fans filled the hall in record numbers. Congrats to Cliff and crew on another successful year.

East Coast Comic Con -- Punisher fans come in all ages. Super Punisher fan, Dane, had a shirt (which his mom can no longer wash!) signed by me and John Beatty. And Dane earned a complimentary signed Punisher print for being an awesome kid as well.

See you at Ottawa Comic Con next weekend. It's been so long since I've been in the Capital City, I think I was still drawing Master of Kung Fu at the time?! Looking forward to seeing it again. Look for me, Michael Golden, and Geof Isherwood to be in the same general vicinity. And look for a whole bunch of other comic art and media guests too. Here's a list.

I finally produced an image of my Daredevil #241 cover and like the other prints, remastered and recolored. Now available on the SHOP page and also available at convention stops this summer. That's a print I've been wanting to create since,.. since,.. well, since the Daredevil series premiered on Netflix, I'm ashamed to say. Better late than never?

I have a newer print to display at conventions and I'm also making it available on the SHOP page.

In 1983, French publisher, Editions Deesse produced a limited edition, signed, 18-plate portfolio called "WORLD'S FINEST COMIC BOOK ARTISTS (WFCBA) PORTFOLIO". Both US and European artists were represented. If you haven't heard of it and want to see the other plates, check out this page at the Editions Deesse site.

I'll be signing it at conventions this year. Check my Conventions page to see if I'll be in your area.

... and a couple more straggler pics from Dallas ...and a special shout-out to my niece, Linda (that's the two of us in the first gallery pic) who drove over from Jersey to say "hey" and hang for a bit. Thanks for that, and great to see you again!